


Talking to Myself

by Voiidfriend



Category: Transformers: Prime
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 09:47:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29008536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Voiidfriend/pseuds/Voiidfriend
Summary: Starscream finds Optimus injured on the battlefield and begs him to hold on. Star can't do this without his conjunx, but is Optimus too far gone to hear him?
Relationships: Optimus Prime/Starscream
Comments: 8
Kudos: 40





	Talking to Myself

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by my lovely friend Gamemaster26!

Starscream flew as high as he could above the ongoing battle, his engine screaming with effort as he tore through the sky, gaining as much altitude as he could. He turned back down in an instant, using his sensitive energy seeking sensors to look desperately for one mech in particular. He started to drop low, but he still couldn't find who he was searching for.

.:Optimus! Send me your location NOW!:. He had tried comming the Prime what felt like a million times in the past few minutes, but with no response. He searched back in his logs for the SOS call that his conjunx had sent, had it only been three minutes? He looped around above the fight, the Decepticon forces were beginning to retreat already- but he still couldn't find Optimus! Where in the pit could he be?

Suddenly his equipment gave him a ping- Optimus’ signal! It was faint, but it was there! He made a sharp left and pushed his engine as fast as it would go. The signal was coming from the edge of a cliff, no- from off the cliff. The seeker felt his energon run cold, but he kept up his accelerated pace as he sped towards the signal. 

He arrived seconds later, the top of the cliff was covered in plasma burns and energon, but no Decepticons. He transformed as he flew over the edge, starting his thrusters to slow his descent. The bottom of the cliff was covered in jagged rocks, and Starscream forced himself to focus on his task- he had to find Optimus. 

He landed on a flat portion of rock and scanned the area, picking up the signal again and running over to it, what he found made his spark drop. It was a trail of spilled energon, as if someone had dragged a body over the rocks. Starscream’s view of it was cut off as it twisted suddenly, curving around a large boulder. 

The seeker didn’t think- he ran over to it and skidded around the giant rock.

And there he was, Optimus laid against the rock, clutching a leaking wound on his side. Energon was splattered all across his frame, and Starscream could see many- so many cuts and dents scattered over him. The seeker dropped to his knees in front of Optimus, who didn’t seem to notice that he was there. The Prime’s optics were dim, but still online, and Starscream wiped energon out of them with shaking servos.

“Optimus? Optimus can you hear me?” He ran his servos over his conjunx’s frame, the wound on his side was the worst one, but not by a lot. Optimus also had a large crack across his helm that had been the source of the energon in his optics, the fuel still leaking slowly and dripping down his faceplate. His battle mask was practically shattered, what remained of the right half of it ended in sharp, broken points, and the left side was completely missing, revealing the Prime’s pained grimace.

“Optimus, please, say something! Talk to me!” He practically screamed, pushing a servo onto Optimus’ where they pressed into his side, trying to stop the flow of energon. He raised his other servo to his conjunx’s face, tilting it so that he could see Starscream.

“Star...scream?” Optimus groaned out, the light in his optics fading in and out as he fought the drag of unconsciousness. 

“Optimus! Hold- hold still, I'm comming Ratchet!” He sent out another SOS ping, this time adding his coordinates and sending them directly to the medic. He prayed they would get there soon, he had never seen Optimus so badly hurt.

“Star…” The Prime repeated, leaning his helm into Starscream’s servo. Exhaustion was pulling at him, no doubt, from the severity of his wounds to how he had dragged himself to cover, Starscream didn't know how much energon he could have left.

“Optimus, look at me, look at me, please!” The seeker begged, pulling Optimus’ helm up again.

The Prime tried, his neck joints straining to try and keep his head up as his optics flickered desperately. But in the end, they fell offline, and his body went slack next to Starscream, causing him to let out a scared wail.

“No! Come back right now! Wake up, wake up, wake up!” He pressed his servos harder into Optimus’, trapping the unconscious mech’s between his and the wound as tightly as possible. Starscream sobbed, tears spilling from his optics and dropping onto Optimus’ blank faceplate.

“Please! You need- you need to wake up right now! Because, because I can't do this without you, Optimus! I need you- the Autobots need you! Please come back to me!” His frame started shaking, and he pressed his helm against Optimus’ as he cried. 

“Please...come back to me…”  
Starscream didn't know how long he sat there, crying into his conjunx’s unconscious form, he barely remembered being pulled off of Optimus by Ratchet, who dove into his work immediately. He stumbled back, frame still shaking harder than he had ever felt. His limbs felt numb, and he felt servos wrap around his right arm, gently pulling him back and away from Ratchet- from Optimus. 

“No…” he tried to pull back, he couldn't leave his conjunx! But whoever it was just pulled him further like it was nothing. Suddenly he found himself pressed against a large, green chassis, and those same servos released his arm to wrap him in a crushing hug. He tensed, his wings shooting up and quivering slightly. Suddenly he felt the emotional dam break and he clutched Bulkhead tightly as he started crying all over again, loud, ugly sobs ripping from his frame as he pressed his face into the wrecker’s chest.

He could just barely hear Bulkhead trying to comfort him over the ringing in his audials, but he still couldn't focus. He offlined his optics, but all he could see was Optimus’ unmoving frame, leaking energon all over his shaking servos. 

He didn’t remember being brought back to base at all. He faded back to the present under a hot stream of solvent, with someone else cleaning the dried energon off of his claws. He took a deep, shuddering invent as he stood, letting the hot liquid wash over his fatigued frame. He let the vent out all at once, onlining his optics and glancing over at whoever was holding his servo.

“Bumblebee?” He asked, his voice nothing more than a hoarse whisper.

The scout looked up at him, pausing his ministrations on Starscream’s claws. .:Starscream? How… are you feeling?:. Bumblebee’s optics spoke volumes, he looked distraught, and rightfully so. Optimus was like a father to him, Optimus- Optimus!

“O-Optimus, how- is he-” 

Bumblebee let out a sad whir, .:Ratchet is still working on him, they've been in there for hours, Starscream…:.

The seeker felt his frame tense up, and he tried to pull his servo out of the other mech’s grip- but Bumblebee gripped it tighter.

.:He’s gonna be okay, Scream, he has to be.:. The scout beeped, but he sounded unsure, like he was trying to convince himself alongside Starscream.

Starscream sighed, letting the scout’s words wash over him. He didn't respond, but stood still as Bumblebee started cleaning his servo again.

It only took Bee a few minutes to finish cleaning the energon off of him, Starscream refused help in drying off, preferring to do that much himself. Bumblebee left him alone in the wash racks, and the seeker took the moment to assess himself properly. 

He was low on energon, no surprise there. Rocketing through the sky as fast as he had probably drained his reserves. He had some scrapes on his knees and wings, and he generally felt like he was about to collapse from exhaustion. He finished drying what he could reach of his frame and walked outside to where Bumblebee was waiting for him.

.:feeling any better?:. He asked with a smile. Or, as close to a smile as the scout could probably manage just then.

“No.” He said plainly, “Is he still with Ratchet?”

Bumblebee nodded, cocking his head to tell Starscream to follow him. Neither spoke as they walked along the hallways towards the medical bay. Without the usual chatter and commotion, the base was eerily silent. 

They arrived at their destination, and Starscream saw that the rest of the team was waiting outside the doors as well, save for Bulkhead and the humans.

Bumblebee walked past him and sat next to Smokescreen, who wrapped him in a hug. 

“Starscream,” Arcee called to him from where she stood to the side. “How are you holding up?”

Starscream walked over to her, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the wall. He stood for a moment, contemplating his response. “I’m tired.” Was all he could manage in the end.

The two-wheeler seemed to understand, and Starscream recalled somewhere that she had lost a few partners- Cliffjumper being one of them. His mood soured even more and he stared at the floor silently. 

The doors to the med bay opened suddenly, and Ratchet looked over the team with a calculated expression. “He’ll live.” He said with a sigh, but it did nothing to calm Starscream’s nerves. 

“Ratchet, can I…?” He took a step towards the medic, but something inside of him told him to leave. To turn around and run in the opposite direction, back home, back to Thundercracker and Skywarp, back to somewhere he felt safe. 

But his trine was gone. So was his planet. All he had left now was Optimus, and he wanted- needed to be there for him. No matter how hard he knew it would be to see him like that.

Ratchet nodded and stepped to the side, letting Starscream enter the med bay.

It was a complete mess, there was spilled energon across the floor, and a stack of welders and other dirtied medical tools on a tray next to the berth. The berth where his conjunx laid, as still as he had been when Starscream last saw him.

The seeker walked to the side of the berth with slow, deliberate steps. He looked over Optimus’ unmoving form, Ratchet had cleaned the fuel from his frame and closed the wound on his side and helm, the only reminder of them being the long jagged scars that remained in their place. Starscream lifted a slow servo and laid it on Optimus’ chest, over his spark. He shuttered his optics and focused on the feeling of it as it pulsed, as if to prove to himself that he was still alive, still here with Starscream.

Suddenly Optimus groaned, his face contorting into a familiar grimace as he shifted his limbs on the berth. Starscream retracted his servo immediately, holding it to his own chest.

“Optimus?” He asked softly, leaning forward slightly.

Optimus stilled at the sound of his voice, his optics fluttering online as he looked for Starscream. “Star?” He murmured, and Starscream felt his spark soar.

“I'm here! I’m here, Optimus.” He exclaimed, reaching his servos out again to catch Optimus’ and bring them towards him.

The Prime’s gaze settled on him, and he smiled. “My star.”

Starscream laughed, bringing his helm down to rest it against his conjunx’s. “You scared me, you scared all of us!” He joked, happily fluttering his wings when Optimus gave his servos a squeeze.

“I apologize,” Optimus mumbled, letting go of Starscream’s servos to wrap his big arms around his seeker. “It was not my intent to upset you.”

Starscream sighed, burying his faceplate in Optimus’ neck. “Well, you'll just have to make it up to me, somehow.”

Optimus laughed, but Starscream felt him wince at the pain in his side. The seeker made to pull away, but Optimus held him still. 

“I won’t ever leave you, Star.” He whispered.

Starscream felt emotion well up in his spark at the words, Optimus had heard him.

“I know, my love.” He breathed, 

“I know.”


End file.
